Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The presence of unwanted vibrations in audio and optical equipment, as well as in many types of electronic equipment and other devices, can lead to degradation in the performance of the devices. Specifically, undamped vibration, movement or shocks, in audio equipment including speakers, amplifiers, microphones, audio mixers and related equipment can lead to degradation in the quality of the signal output from the device. Similarly, vibrations in optical based and other types of equipment such as telescopes, microscopes, compact disk players (and similar devices), computer disk drives, photographic equipment, etc., can lead to a degradation in the information received from the device. In another example, undamped vibrations in electronic equipment, particularly vibrations resulting from fans or other cooling units in computers and computer components may lead to a reduction in performance and/or functional life of the computer or component.
There have been many devices that have been constructed to reduce or eliminate unwanted vibrations. There remains, however, a need in the art for effective, affordable isolation devices which are capable of effectively isolating apparatuses and reducing, if not eliminating unwanted vibrations.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.
The present invention may be directed to a variety of embodiments or forms. In at least one embodiment, the invention is directed to a device for the control of vibrations comprising a retainer resting on a base and a plurality of bearings disposed within the retainer.
The bearings are arranged in at least two layers such as a first layer and a second layer. The second layer is disposed on the first layer. The first layer comprises three or more bearings. The second layer comprises at least one bearing. Each bearing in the first layer is constrained on its bottom by the base, on its side by the retainer and optionally in contact with at least two adjacent bearings in the first layer. The bearings in the first layer support the bearing in the second layer. Optionally, the one or more bearings in the second layer may be larger than the bearings in the first layer. The retainer has a surface which is in substantially tangential contact with the bearings in the lower layer. Desirably, the retainer has an inner wall in contact with the bearings in the lower layer, the inner wall being substantially vertical in a region of contact with the bearings.
The bearings may be of any shape desired, however in at least one embodiment the bearings are substantially spherical in shape in order to minimize contact between the bearings and adjacent surfaces of the retainer or components. In some embodiments at least one of the bearings defines a substantially flat surface.
The retainer may be provided in a number of different forms. In one form, the retainer is in the form of a collar, desirably, annular. The retainer may also take other forms including a coil and a plurality of interconnected springs or biasing members disposed about the bearings.
In some embodiments the retainer may be made of a resilient material or of a material which is made resilient by any suitable means including, for example, by providing a plurality of slits therein. As an example of the latter, the retainer may be formed so as to have a plurality of petals.
In various embodiments the bearings may be made of suitable materials including, but not limited to tungsten carbide, aluminum oxide or other ceramic materials, chrome, steel, glass, marble and Delrin. The bearings may also be provided with a coating such as Teflon.
Additional layers of bearings may also be used in the inventive devices.
Desirably, the device further comprises a housing with an opening therein. The collar and bearings may be disposed within the housing with a portion of the second layer extending through the opening.
Some embodiments of the invention will be used in combination with an audio device, an optical device or other vibration sensitive devices. Desirably, three or more of the inventive devices are used to isolate an audio, magnetic, optical, electronic or any other component that may be affected by vibrations. To that end, the invention is directed to the combination of an audio, optical or photograph device and the inventive devices disclosed herein.
The invention is also directed to an acoustic device comprising a plurality of supports. Each support comprises a retainer, desirably in the form of collar, resting on a base and a plurality of bearings disposed within the retainer and arranged in a first layer and a second layer. The second layer is disposed on the first layer. The first layer comprises three or more bearings and the second layer comprises a bearing. The retainer has an inner surface in contact with the bearings in the lower layer. Desirably, the inner surface is in the form of a wall which is substantially vertical in a region of contact with the bearings. The bearings in the first layer support the bearing(s) in the second layer.
Device that may benefit from the present invention are typically in the fields of optical and audio equipment such as: compact disk player (including players, recorders, and other similar devices for use with any form of media such as a compact audio disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), etc), a speaker, VCR, phonographs, cameras, a microphone, a mixer, a digital to analog device, an analog to digital device, an amplifier, a turntable, etc.